Reach Out

What is Penn State Beaver Reach Out?

Reach Out provides Penn State Beaver students with opportunities to learn and develop as citizens through thoughtfully-organized service projects designed to meet the needs of the community.

Students volunteer 20-25 hours per semester in not-for-profit agencies while completing a variety of volunteer assignments, including problem solving, marketing, office work, child care, and construction. Annually, students contribute approximately $45,000 in economic value to the Beaver community.

If you’re a student interested in exploring career opportunities, service learning offers a unique opportunity to learn about jobs from the inside of many different organizations. Service-learning experiences help many students make career choices and many students find jobs with the organizations where they were service-learning volunteers. Other students report that their service-learning work is one of the first things from their resumes that potential employers note.

Public scholarship is a priority for Penn State and Beaver campus is among the leaders in offering opportunities for students. We hope to build and expand this program. In the last decade, many local agencies in southwestern Pennsylvania have benefited from our Reach Out program. Each semester, Reach Out places an average of 150 students in volunteer positions within the community.

Student engagement in the community benefits everyone and local agencies benefit from the energy, skills, and dedication of student volunteers. The experiences that local agencies provide for students help to provide real-world education for these students as they learn to apply their skills and knowledge in a variety of situations. Students also come to understand their responsibilities as citizens in building communities and a strong democratic society.

Click on the links to the left to learn about the various agencies within the Reach Out organization.

If you're interested in working with and/or recruiting student volunteers for a not-for-profit group or agency, please contact Dr. JoAnn Chirico, senior instructor in sociology, 724-773-3846.

These volunteer opportunities are available to all students. You need not be enrolled in a class that provides a service option. If you would like to volunteer and receive academic credit, that's possible through Sociology 296/496 which you can take for one, two, and/or three credits. For details, please contact Dr. JoAnn Chirico, 724-773-3846.

You might also be interested in the minor in Civic and Community Engagement. It fits easily into any major, adds value to your resume, and has demonstrably helped students to get jobs and find careers.

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